Site of the formation of the New York Women’s Suffrage Association in 1869
SARATOGA SPRINGS: The Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation will celebrate Women’s History Month on Thursday, March 30 at 7PM with virtual program “Saratoga & Women’s Suffrage.” This program is presented by Dr. Sally Roesch Wagner, a highly regarded author and historian of the suffrage movement, with an introduction by Nancy Baird Brown, member of the National Votes for Women Trail.
Saratoga’s role in the American Revolution is legendary, but very little is known about Saratoga Springs’ role in the 72-year Bloodless Revolution – the fight for women’s suffrage. Dr. Wagner will discuss Matilda Joslyn Gage and her role in starting the New York State Woman Suffrage Association.
“Matilda Joslyn Gage came to Susan B. Anthony’s rescue with a last-minute speech when she was frantically attempting to organize an impromptu woman’s rights meeting in Saratoga Springs in 1854. Judge William Hay, who was in the audience, remembered Gage’s ‘elaborate argument for the removal of woman’s legal and social disabilities.’ I’m eager to share this story and more about Saratoga’s women’s rights history with you on March 30,” said Dr. Sally Roesch Wagner.
Awarded one of the first doctorates in the country for work in women’s studies (UC Santa Cruz) and a founder of one the first college-level women’s studies programs in the United States (CSU Sacramento), Dr. Sally Roesch Wagner has taught women’s studies courses for 50 years. She currently serves as an adjunct faculty member in the Syracuse University Renée Crown University Honors Program. Dr. Wagner is the Founder and Executive Director of the Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation and Center for Social Justice Dialogue in Fayetteville, New York. Among her awards, Dr. Wagner was selected as a 2020 New York State Senate Woman of Distinction, one of “21 Leaders for the 21st Century” by Women’s E-News in 2015 and she received the Katherine Coffey Award for outstanding service to museology from the Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums in 2012.
“The Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation is thrilled to continue to highlight the women’s suffrage movement in Saratoga Springs by hosting Dr. Sally Roesch Wagner. By being involved with the installation of National Votes for Women Trail markers at Fifth Avenue and Broadway this past summer, I had the opportunity to learn about the history of this important movement in Saratoga Springs I am grateful that we have people like Sally and Nancy to share this history,” said Executive Director Samantha Bosshart.
This program will be held via Zoom for a suggested donation of $10. For additional information please visit www.saratogapreservation.org, call (518) 587-5030, or email Nicole Babie, Membership & Programs Director, at nbabie@saratogapreservation.org.
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